How Did PACERS Begin And What Are Its Goals?
PACERS began as an in-service program for rural teachers sponsored by the Program for Rural Services and Research (PRSR) at the University of Alabama. Realizing that their common interests-including keeping small schools open-participating teachers and PRSR staff began planning for an organization of rural schools. The outcome was the PACERS Cooperative, an informal association of thirty schools representative of rural Alabama. The Cooperative’s program, Better Schools Building Better Communities, created projects and approaches that gained state and national recognition for their academic outcomes and contributions to local life. They became the models for PACERS present activities. Over a period of years, participants decided that the future of the work depended upon the development of an independent rural non-profit. Although this step meant the loss of institutional support from the University of Alabama, it placed the setting of agendas, decision making, and responsibility for the program in the hands of rural communities and their members.
This new grassroots effort has focused upon developing local groups, continuing and expanding projects, and identifying and addressing the basic issues facing small rural communities and schools. Receiving its 501c3 status in late 2005, PACERS now has ten community chapters with more than 500 total members with a goal of forty chapters and 3,500 members by 2011. Its project in rural media has eight participating schools/communities. PACERS Rural Science for Life has five schools/communities sponsoring aquaculture projects with two additional sites engaged in its new solar project. PACERS expects by 2011 that its rural science network will have 30 school/community participants in solar, aquaculture, and hydroponics/greenhouse projects with its community documentation/publishing network having an additional 25 members.
How Did PACERS Get to Florala/Lockhart?
The first PACERS projects on the FHS campus started with aquaculture and photography. Aquaculture started in the early 90s with a vision by John Harbuck, the Agriscience teacher. He wanted a different way of teaching math and science with a more hands on approach to learning. The aquaculture program has grown from a small building behind the school with just four tanks into a state of the art aquaculture building where students grow tilapia, catfish, Koi, goldfish, and rainbow trout.
The darkroom began as an idea to add another level of hands on learning for yearbook students. Patricia Peoples and a group of FHS students attended a photography workshop taught by Andrew Goetz on the University of Alabama campus. No one in the Florala group had never even been inside a darkroom. The boxes of equipment came back to our campus after the workshop, and the closet between the science rooms became our darkroom. It went into production and remained in that tiny space until a full darkroom and classroom was included in the design of the new aquaculture building, thanks to the vision of John Harbuck. The darkroom is no longer functional due to advances in digital photography, but the program continues. Students document campus life for the yearbook, assist with the newspaper, and enter photography contests.
Currently, solar projects and wind power have been added to show students how to live greener. In 2010, a solar green house was designed to help produce heat for the school maintenance building. We also have a solar batch water heater used to produce hot water for the ag shop. In 2011, we added a 45 feet tall wind turbine used to produce energy in the fishery. These projects were designed to give our students an opportunity to experience different methods of producing energy.
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